


The only thing

by MyLadyDay



Series: Till we got nothing to lose [2]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Alternate Universe, Established Relationship, Happy Ending, M/M, Reunions, guardian Marco, guild wars 2 au, knowledge of the game isn't required to understand the au, vigil soldier marco, whispers spy ace
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-24
Updated: 2019-11-24
Packaged: 2021-02-25 20:55:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,110
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21541174
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MyLadyDay/pseuds/MyLadyDay
Summary: “The only thing I want is for you to come with me,” Ace had said, and they were so young and foolish and aware of it that denying his request came easier than it should have. They had ideals that still meant something, meant enough for both of them to choose those over each other.
Relationships: Fushichou Marco | Phoenix Marco/Portgas D. Ace
Series: Till we got nothing to lose [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1552459
Comments: 4
Kudos: 41





	The only thing

**Author's Note:**

  * For [siojo](https://archiveofourown.org/users/siojo/gifts).

> prompted by siojo: the only thing i want is for you to come with me
> 
> Update 16 Feb 2020: Due to the ongoing bullshit with that unofficial AO3 app, all my works are now locked and available only to registered users. DO NOT COPY MY WORK TO OTHER SITES, THIS INCLUDES TRANSLATIONS MADE WITHOUT MY CONSENT.

They were getting more and more recruits almost by the day, boys and girls just barely old enough not to be called children anymore, sons and daughters of noble families looking to better their image and send off one of their own to the cause. The ones that could and actually wanted to fight were infuriatingly few. 

If he’d spared a moment to think about it, Marco would remember that it had always been like that; he’d been one of those infuriating few, surrounded by frightened kids from the villages around Divinity’s Reach, only there for a chance at steady pay and regular meals, and entitled nobles that weren’t used to being outside the city walls, let alone in territory occupied by centaurs. But he didn’t stop to think about it, not when he finally had a moment away from them all.

The bone deep exhaustion settled as soon as the door to his quarters was closed. What little armor he’d been wearing while training the recruits was already suffocating him, and it was a feeling he was slowly getting used to.

The Vigil Keep was his home, the only home he’d known, and yet the walls felt like they were closing in every time he tried to sit down for a while and rest. And rest he sorely needed. His armor was growing heavier with each passing year, his shield more of a burden than the object of his pride. 

They all looked at him like he was a hero, like he was still there because he believed in what they were doing all the while he felt like he was wasting away under the weight of his duty that was laced with regrets long since festered inside him. He remembered a promise from long ago, a promise to never regret his choice, but he was getting old and promises were becoming too hard to keep.

Memories of a youth long since passed were a more treasured commodity than thoughts of a lonely future, their ‘good’ cause be damned. It was a war they’d been fighting for decades and there was no end in sight, but his belief was waning with every year spent under siege. The number of centaurs never dropped, they just kept coming and Marco was tired of the never ending uphill battle.

Memories of a youth that broke his heart every time he thought of them for too long always came to him whenever he thought of leaving his duty. The guilt over abandoning his post was almost non-existent these days, but the guilt over the mistakes he’d made years ago was only growing. 

“The only thing I want is for you to come with me,” Ace had said back then, the words barely a whisper in the night, spoken against Marco’s lips like a secret they fought to keep their own just for a while longer. They had so many secrets to keep, what was one more.

“The only thing I want is for you to come with me,” Ace had said, and they were  _ so young _ and foolish and aware of it that denying his request came easier than it should have. They had ideals that still meant something, meant enough for both of them to choose those over each other.

“The only thing I want,” and Marco cut the thought off before he could break his heart yet again because the memory always ended the same. No matter how much he wished he’d made a different choice, the memory stayed the same and it did little other than torture him.

It always ended with him pressing his words against Ace’s skin just for a moment before letting him go, like the fool he was. He’d forever regret letting Ace go.

“You know I have to stay.”

He had to stay and Ace had to leave, and they were both fools for thinking it would be easy. Just hearing those words said back to him was a special kind of torture; having to hear himself repeat the dumbest words he’d said in his life, over and over again, was nothing short of devastating.

The Vigil Keep was his home, filled to the brim with men he considered brothers, and yet he lost himself for hours on end staring at the stone walls and trying his hardest not to regret more than he already was. He was regretting choosing his brothers over Ace and it weighed on him more than he thought was possible. The armor was another weight on his shoulders, but he let it be for the moment, holding him in place as he continued drowning in the same memory as he waited.

He had no reason to believe it would be that day, but he waited nonetheless. He’d spent his life waiting for the next breath of air.

Just as always, it happened without a single sound. The air around him shifted visibly, just a shimmer of magic out of the corner of his eye, then a billow of black smoke barely reaching his senses before dissolving into the air. Marco knew he was there.

Neither spoke a word in greeting, Marco’s room in the Keep filled with everything unspoken between them, but a warm hand combed through his hair and he could finally breathe. His first breath of fresh air in what felt like years, a lungful of freedom and he couldn’t help but close his eyes for a moment’s rest. Ace started unbuckling the straps keeping his armor in place, working quickly, but silently while Marco sat there, too scared to look at him.

Scared that he’d turn and Ace would be gone again. He feared very little, but the thought of turning and not seeing Ace there terrified him more than anything.

But the armor was off and scattered around the floor in no time, his tunic already somewhere off to the side as well and he barely remembered Ace pulling it off. There was only enough space left in front of him for Ace to drop to his knees, the rest littered with pieces of his armor and bits of Ace’s uniform.

Marco had a profound hate for that uniform, despite thinking how good Ace had looked in black the first time he’d seen it.

“I’ve missed you, love,” Ace said in that same low voice, just like all those years ago, just like he always did. Soft and loving and heartbreaking, making Marco ache right in the middle of his chest just enough for his lungs to seize. 

And yet hearing his voice was enough to lift the weight of everything off Marco’s shoulders, making his hand feather light for the first time since he’d returned to his room. It took no effort at all to lift his hand and brush his fingers along Ace’s jaw, gently for fear something would break between them if he moved faster or with more force. 

“I missed you too,” Marco said, because he has, he’s missed Ace with an ache of a missing limb for years; both when he was away and in the brief moments he wasn’t.

But he wasn’t away in this moment, he was within touching distance and he was warm and real and Marco pulled him closer until their lips could finally meet, breaking his heart in a good way. The best way, because Ace was actually there to put him back together this time. Ace always put him back together so sweetly, so gently, so painfully lovingly.

In comparison, Marco was too rough in the moment, as soon as their lips broke apart.

“How long until your next mission?” Marco asked, driving the knife deeper before Ace could do it for him. He was dreading the answer, just like always, but there was no enjoying Ace’s presence without knowing just how little time they had. It was never enough time, that he knew quite well.

“A week,” Ace said, his hands featherlight on top of Marco’s thighs, like the ghost of a touch he could almost feel whenever he missed Ace too much, except his hands were there and bleeding warmth through the fabric of his pants.

He was perched there on his knees in front of Marco like a dream, his chest bare and all his freckles on display, hiding all the scars he’d gathered through the years, so many of them unfamiliar to him. 

“The next one should be shorter,” Ace added, looking more tired than he had in years, but still so very beautiful it almost hurt Marco to look at him after so long. “The Order is finally learning how to function without me.”

Marco froze at the words, his finger only barely brushing Ace’s hair at the nape of his neck. His hand would surely tremble had it not been pressed against Ace’s skin.

“Don’t give me hope like that,” he said, even though it was already too late. He’d gone and started hoping like the damn fool he’d always been that maybe Ace wouldn’t be leaving as much. “Not when you don’t know.”

“I’m giving hope to us both,” Ace said and there was that smile, the one he saved for Marco alone, the one that drove the hope straight into Marco’s chest and found it a home there. “Would the Vigil survive without you?” he asked, voice full of that same hope.

Ace giving him hope was a dangerous thing, but Marco had no way of stopping it, not when Ace looked at him like that. Not when his skin was so warm to the touch, like fire under Marco’s hands, so undeniably real and there and almost painfully bittersweet because he could think of little else other than being without that warmth. 

“They don’t need me,” Marco said,  _ not as much as I need you _ his mind supplied.

Ace looked at him as if he heard it anyway.

“We need the cooperation of both the Vigil and the Priory for the next one,” Ace said seriously, sounding more like the experienced agent he was than the embodiment of heartache he was to Marco these days, and it was enough to draw him from the melancholy that threatened to overwhelm.

This sounded like business, and he waited until Ace made his point, sure that it was brought up for a reason. They rarely spoke of business unless it was of the utmost importance, because it was precisely this Vigil and Whispers business that created the distance between them. Marco brought it up as little as possible, if he could help it.

“I’ll ask that you’re put on the team,” Ace said, still so painfully hopeful as if Marco could ever say no. “We can disappear when it’s done and I won’t have to waste any more time missing you.”

Ace rose from the floor, his hands still so warm on Marco’s face while he stood for a brief moment, making sure Marco looked up at him and into his eyes before he moved again, straddling Marco on the bed. Marco laughed in surprise, hating the blind hope Ace gave him, but knowing his answer was  _ yes yes of course I’ll disappear with you _ before a proper question was even asked.

He didn’t bother saying it with words, not when Ace was clinging to him like he knew exactly what was going through Marco’s mind. Maybe he did know. But that didn’t matter, not when Marco could cling to him just as tight and forget for the moment that there was anything beyond the four walls that surrounded them.

The scars were smooth underneath his fingers, new and old alike, almost cold to the touch compared to the rest of Ace’s back. Still he pulled Ace closer, until Ace’s face was buried in the crook of his neck. Marco could feel him take a deep breath against his skin in what felt like relief.

“You must know I’d never say no to you,” Marco said, nose buried in Ace’s hair. He smelled like home and the magic he used to just appear in Marco’s rooms. “Not about this.”

“I suppose I know,” Ace said, voice muffled, but there was no mistaking the smile. “But it doesn’t hurt to hear it once in a while.”

Marco laughed a little, closing his eyes and burying his face further into Ace’s hair. 

“Is there anything else you’d like to hear more?” Marco whispered into his hair.

Ace held onto him like he was afraid Marco might disappear if he let go, his face still buried in Marco’s neck.

“I’m sure I’ll think of something,” he said. “Now that we have time.”


End file.
